I first met Rob Parker at the Harrogate Crime Festival a couple of years ago. We were introduced by a mutual friend. Inevitably, our encounter took place in the beer tent, so I recall little of what was actually said. Even so, whenever I reflected on that meeting, it was always with a smile.

Last October, I went to Chiltern Kills Crime Festival (a very enjoyable event if you’re ever wondering whether to go or not). While I was there, I bumped into Rob again and we spoke briefly, but long enough for me to realise why I smiled over the memories of Harrogate. Because Rob smiles. A lot. And that’s a great thing – if a little odd for someone who writes about crime.

Since our first meeting, I’d had a book of his on my Kindle waiting to be read. Seeing him again reminded me and I went to shift it higher up the pile. In doing so, I also decided to scan his other works, and there was something about A Wanted Man that made me change tack and push that one in front of a lot of others. Here’s the blurb:

Ben Bracken has just got out of prison.

Not by the front door.

Disowned by his father and rejected by the army, the ex-soldier has no anchors in his life but the bag on his back. In it, he has his ‘insurance policy’ – the evidence that will guarantee his freedom, provided he can keep it safe.

The plan: to catch the man who put him in prison in the first place, a ruthless mob boss who heads a powerful crime syndicate.

But duty soon gets in the way, and he finds himself looking into the murder of his friend’s father. And before he knows it, he’s spiralling headlong into the Manchester underworld and the charismatic criminals that operate there.

Can Bracken keep his identity secret, find the killer and stay one step ahead of the authorities who want to put him back behind bars?

If you’re looking for literary fiction, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for some entertainment, though, the blurb suggests it has all the attributes. You know when you just fancy taking your brain out and watching an action movie with a beer and some unhealthy snacks? That’s what the blurb was telling me I was going to get.

To be fair, it isn’t that basic. But it is entertaining.

When I was a teenager, I remember coming across a series of books by John Gardner (look him up, you’ll be impressed). This particular series was about a secret agent called Boysie Oakes – a true anti-Bond when it was published in the 1960s, because Oakes was a coward. The thing that attracted me to the books, though, was a tagline on the cover of each one: A Boysie Oakes Entertainment. No attempt to dress them up as great literature – just a great way to enjoy a few hours.

I was reminded of this after reading A Wanted Man and shared that story with Rob next time I saw him. Not that Ben Bracken is anything like Boysie Oakes. Bracken’s story is designed to grab you by the scruff of the neck and pull you right to the edge of your seat. And, for me, that’s entertainment.

So what do you get for your money with Ben Bracken?

In part there are some well-worn tropes (the loner, ex-military), but there are some interesting twists on these as well. The opening sequence involving a prison breakout pulls you in right away – although by the end of the novel, I still didn’t really feel I knew the whole background to that. Which isn’t a bad thing, especially as this is the first in a series. Let’s face it, you do still want to have things to go back and find out about.

The storyline was fast-moving. There certainly weren’t any moments when you felt the plot was treading water. Short chapters and plenty of cliffhangers helped to pull you along. And, when it came, the action was cinematic (of course this would transfer well to the screen – big or small!).

When it comes to thrillers, one of the techniques that works really well in keeping the pace up is the ability to switch from one point of view to another. That’s easy to do when it’s written in the third person. It’s more of a challenge when the story is told in the first person, and Rob Parker has risen to that challenge.

For thrilling entertainment, I can thoroughly recommend A Wanted Man, and I’m looking forward to reading more about Ben Bracken.

As it happens, today sees the launch of Rob’s latest thriller, The Troubled Deep. There’s a lot of hype about this book, so I suspect I’ll be reading that before I get to Ben Bracken again.

If I have piqued your interest in either book and you want to know more, click on the relevant image below for the Amazon link.